Millions of passengers will be facing 10 years of severe disruption as once-in-a-generation upgrades are due to start on one of Britain’s most important railways.
Workers are expected to begin work next year on replacing the more than 150 miles of wires installed on the west coast main line in the UK.
The work which will also include signal upgrades and track replacement is seen as essential to keep passenger and freight trains moving between Scotland and England.
Network Rail will close sections of the line for weeks every year once the project gets under way, planning documents show.
A source familiar with the industry told the Times engineers will take control of the line and shut it down for trains for three separate two-week periods each year between 2026, 2027 and 2028.
The stations affected will include Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan, Pres- ton, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith and Carlisle.
It is expected that bus replacement services will be offered but planners are bracing themselves for delays across the UK and fear frustrated passengers may ended up flying to their destinations rather than booking trains between Scotland and London.
One source told the newspaper this will cause levels of disruption never seen in the past 25 years.
One source told the newspaper this will cause levels of disruption never seen in the past 25 years. Picture: Passengers travelling to Glasgow at London’s Euston station
The work which will also see signal upgrades and track replacement is essential to keep passenger and freight trains moving between Scotland and England (stock)
‘There is a huge amount of planning taking place but it is still early days,’ they said. ‘It’s a major project that will ensure the line is fit for the future.’
Avanti West Coast, which operates services between London and Scotland said said it was too early to say what the full impact would be on its timetable.
The company could be nationalised and brought under Labour government’s control as early as next year.
The west coast main line — along with the east coast line from London to Edinburgh and Aberdeen — runs at close to capacity, meaning any closures result in a huge knock-on to services.
The work starting in 2026 is designed to ‘renew’ rather than simply enhance the west coast main line. The full programme of works is understood to include the replacement of 155 miles of overhead wires installed in 1974, when the line was electrified, as well as the renewal of 140 miles of track and replacement of 2,000 signalling units.
Avanti West Coast, which operates services between London and Scotland said said it was too early to say what the full impact would be on its timetable
It has been suggested the final bill could reach £3.8billion over a ten to 15 year period but Network Rail could not confirm the total cost.
It is understood the infrastructure operator has planned spending for the project until the end of the ‘control’ period, which runs until 2028.
Stuart Patrick, the chief executive of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, has been lobbying for years for better cross-border rail connections.
He said: ‘This is a demonstration of how bad we are at long-term investment in infrastructure — when you get to the point when you have to replace things that are 50 years old.’
He added: ‘The long-term solution to the west coast main line was supposed to be HS2, because we were struggling with congestion on the west coast main line. It is increasingly difficult to see how we shift from air to rail.’
HS2 was scrapped between Birmingham and Manchester by the former PM Rishi Sunak in order to save money.